"The idea that quiet fashion now conveys power is ironic, given that for years that spot has been defined by bright colors, broad shoulders, wide lapels, cinched waistlines — caricatures of exaggerated severity. Since Philo took over as creative director of Céline six years ago, she has consistently designed collections that have changed the course of fashion, steering women toward a more classic and practical way of dressing. There are many designers who make beautifully constructed clothes of the highest quality, Philo among them. But her specialness lies in synthesizing how women want to dress with how they actually live their lives. And how we want to see ourselves: sophisticated, knowledgeable, not victimized by fashion." - Whitney Vargas on Phoebe Philo

Phoebe Philo is the creative director for Céline, a French luxury brand whose clothes influenced by Philo's code of quality, honest, and real clothing, has made the line a respected and desired brand of simplicity and luxury for today's modern woman. Philo directs the brand from London, makes her family a top priority, refuses to join facebook, and sticks to a classic code of imaginative but real design. Her clothes are desired and admired the world round.

"I think you should be serious about what you do because this is it. This is the only life you’ve got." - Phillip Seymour Hoffman

“To have that concentration to act well is like lugging things up staircases in your brain. I think that’s a thing people don’t understand. It is that exhausting. If you’re doing it well, if you’re concentrating the way you need to, if your will and your concentration and emotional and imagination and emotional life are all in tune, concentrated and working together in that role, that is just like lugging weights upstairs with your head…And I don’t think that should get any easier."

He found characters who had unseemly characters and struggled with vices and weirdness and he brought them to life, provoking in us emotions to hate, fear, sympathize, laugh, and admire. For his his talent, artistry, and transformations that showed another side of humanness, we respect and thank you. For the man behind the method: the father, son, and man, you will be missed greatly. We wish you rest in peace.

Labor Day: A Cookie of History on this Blessed Day of ReprieveIf you've woken well past the normal buzzes and bells of Monday morning alarms or if you are finding yourself in a lounging/reclining position at some point today, you are enjoying the fruits of much labor exerted over 131 years ago to secure this day of rest and tribute. Aptly timed, because let's face it, we are holding on to summer days with a pretty firm grip (probably polished nails too), a reprieve on the first Monday of September is just what the doctor (or Congress) ordered. Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, and contested founder of this day, once emphasized its purpose "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." As you sip your Arnold Palmer or glass of Belvenie, here is a snickerdoodle cookie of history on the laborless beginnings of Labor Day.

Disputed between Peter J. McGuire and Matthew Maguire, there is some debate as to the founder of this day. (It is believed that Samuel Gompers (pictured center) of the American Federation of Labor challenged Maguire's radical politics and so credited McGuire with the founding of the holiday). However, in 1882, the Central Labor Union organized a picnic and street parade in New York City to "demonstrate the espirit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." Encouraging other industrial and urban centers to do the same, municipal ordinances and then state legislation in Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and 23 other states began the legislative snowball creating a convincing lobby to roll the day out nationwide. Finally, in 1894, Congress passed the act that we now know as Labor Day, marking the first Monday of September an official holiday.